Five years ago, in the spring of 2005, I began running for governor of Colorado. My campaign theme, the Colorado Promise, was this deeply held belief that we as a state were not living up to our full potential.

So we laid out a vision to create a different future for Colorado. A new energy economy, to build up other industries of the future like aerospace and the biosciences, to reform our education and healthcare systems, and to modernize our transportation system.

Today, even in the face of the worst recession since the great depression, that vision is becoming a reality. We are leading Colorado forward. People all across Colorado are fulfilling what we call the Colorado promise, and Colorado is on the road to recovery.

It is my privilege and honor to serve as the governor of the greatest state in America.

It has been my privilege and my honor to serve with a great lieutenant governor who has passion for this state and really has a passion for the children of this state that has no peer. Her efforts at healthcare reform, her efforts at education reform the things that she has helped me do to focus on the next generation and generations after that for this state are really remarkable, and I ask you to give Barbara O' Brien a great round of applause for all she has done.

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Over the past years, but particularly over this last year, I have attempted to balance many roles in my life. I have been the governor, I have been a candidate for re-election, and I have also been a husband and a father. I am proud of our work in this administration and my work as governor. I am proud of the direction of the state. I am proud of our campaign, of the staff we have built, and our re-election efforts.

It is my family who has sacrificed the most, my wife, Jeannie, my kids, three of whom are here today. I would say, I would say it this way, I have not found the proper balance where my family is concerned, and I have not made them the priority they should be. So today I'm announcing that I'm ending one of my roles. I am no longer a candidate for re-election in 2010.

It allows me to concentrate on the things that are and should be most important to all of us — taking care of my family, and, quite frankly, taking care of the state of Colorado.

I'm 53 years old. I have been in the public sector or public service for most of the past 30 years. I was a prosecutor coming right out of law school. My wife and I lived in Zambia for three years as Catholic missionaries and volunteers. I was the district attorney in Denver for 12 really wonderful years and I have been so fortunate to serve here as governor. But I still have a son in college. I have two children who still live at home. And quite frankly, they need me and my wife needs me and this is a decision that is intensely personal, but it is just in what I consider to be the best interest of my family.

So while this decision allows me to make my family a priority, it also allows me to focus on keeping the state budget balanced and keeping Colorado on the road to recovery.

The Colorado economy is getting better, but we still have budget-cutting to do on the '09-'10 and '10-'11 budgets, and we'll be submitting the '11-'12 budget in November. By not running for re-election, I'll be able to make the tough and unpopular decisions that simply need to get made — free and clear of the sometimes bitter partisan politics of an election year.

We're positioning Colorado for a strong recovery with our new energy economy, our job creation strategies and our education reforms. The rest of the country is looking to Colorado on issues from the economy to energy to education reform, and our work on healthcare reform as well.

We're in a great position as a state, where the recovery is concerned we're on the right path. I look forward to spending the next 12 months keeping our budget balanced and our economy growing.

It's important to remember that we have a year left, and very important work to do on behalf of this state. Barbara and I are committed to doing that work and doing it well for the people of this state.

When people elect you, they give you, as I said before, an honor and a privilege, and I would just thank Coloradans again for that opportunity. I would thank the people who are here today who have been great supporters of mine. I have to thank the people who are part of my administration, and the staff, every part of the staff, for the way they've devoted themselves to their duties. I want to thank the people who are part of my campaign staff and have given tirelessly for that. I already acknowledged and thanked Barbara. It's been a great sort of way to be involved in a team that's making a real difference, so thanks to all of you.

Finally, I want to thank my family. Both my nuclear family, and my extended family, for all of their support, for all of their love, and for their understanding as I have walked through this decision making of mine.

So, thank you all, God bless you. I very much appreciate the support and the love and the warmth I feel this morning. Thank you.

Not all kids who play baseball are uniformed with fancy script across their chests, traveling to $1,000 instructional camps and drilled how to properly hit the cut-off man. Some kids just play to play.